Originally posted by ChrisH
What a great picture!


What is the bird? A type of Jay or Cardinal, or something else? Whatevever it is, it is beautiful! Thanks for posting it.

Thanks! That particular bird, although I'm not familiar with any scientific names (I just love to watch birds)...is a type of woodpecker or "flicka" as they are often called in these parts. There are also the "pileated" woodpeckers here (the ones with really big crests on their head, like "Woody Woodpecker"), but they are not as frequently seen.


This one is a version of the "red headed woodpecker", we have had these in abundance since we live near a forest area. Last spring we watched a pair raise a fledgling---it was so cool. The adult and the youngster would come and park on the deck railing and the adult would get some food, then feed the baby, then they would fly off and come back.

The adult takes a single kernel of corn, flies to a crook of a tree branch, pounds the kernel to small pieces, eats it, then flies back for another kernel.

If I had to work that hard for my food, I might actually win my ongoing battle of the bulge!